Data Center Locations: Middle East & Africa
Why locate in Africa
The recent extension of submarine cables to eastern and western Africa has brought a dramatic increase in international access for the economies of Africa. By Roch Muraine, director for strategic solutions for Middle East & Africa, Alcatel-Lucent
the bid it can increase investment in education for a more skilled technology workforce, that will help kick off more data centers and technology projects across the African continent.
There is already considerable growth taking place in the data center sector in Africa, even beyond South Africa. Since data centers are where information is hosted locally they are critically important for new telecom company growth and the expansion of local businesses.
In Kenya, for example, ISPs and government have been making data center investments. Compared to elsewhere in the world, these may seem small but they are making way for infrastructure development that will help the region’s data center industry grow. Access Kenya Group is promoting Kenya as a data center destination with an emphasis on storage and backup facilities, for example.
The big story for businesses in Africa today is that they now have the ability to access a data network infrastructure that is reliable, resilient and offers the bandwidth necessary for growing and developing economies. This will be possible through the addition of new international submarine cables on both sides of the continent providing high-capacity links with Europe and Asia, and from the extension of existing data network infrastructures found within large universities and hospitals in Africa.
With the addition of the submarine cables there is a dramatic increase in international access available to global businesses that have established offices in various African countries. These companies will now have easier, faster and better access to their headquarters and other offices that may be based in Europe or even the US.
For local companies the expansion of existing national infrastructure, which will include the development of data centers, will have a dramatic impact on their bottom lines.
Until now most countries in Africa, with the possible exception of South Africa, did not have a reliable infrastructure to support large
organizations deploying data centers or cloud computing, nor did they have easy access to resources off the continent. These large organizations will be able to take advantage of resources made available via the new cables while waiting for the local development and expansion of the infrastructure found in large universities and hospitals in Africa.
Considerable funds have already been invested into this local IT infrastructure. These
networks and hospitals from will be large interconnected
universities to
create a backbone for further expansion with significant investments coming from European governments and the US.
Attracting investment Africa is now commandeering efforts to attract further investment in the continent. The South African Ministry of Science and Technology has recently pitched the country as a location of choice for a European Union telescope project called SKA (the Square Kilometre Array project). It is bidding against Australia on the basis of available land and skills, and the impact such investment could have on its technology sector.
South Africa hopes that by winning
As local and global investments grow, data centers will become an even more critical part of modernizing and diversifying each country’s economy. Most data centers are in an early development phase but are expected to grow.
While all of this promises a strong future, the current situation does not favor traditional corporations being able to implement their own modern IT infrastructure in the near future. Rather, the next phase is most likely to start in the government space, where resources are most required.
Building on the backbone set in place through universities and hospitals and now government investments, global companies will be able to expand their reach and will provide the springboard for smaller local companies to benefit from the new network infrastructure, including data centers and cloud computing.
Cloud computing is also likely to attract investment. Through its use, small businesses will be able to minimize their expenses and risks while optimizing their throughput and reach, helping the region to develop further. n
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